Feeding device for clothes wringers



1941- c. G. LUNDSTROM 2,228,912

FEEDING DEVICE FOR CLOTHES WRINGERS Filed July 2, 1958 Patented Jan. 14 1941 UNITED STATES FATE? ENE Carl G. Lundstrem, Des Moines, Iowa, assignor of one-fourth to A. Anstrcrn, Boone, Iowa Application July 2, 1938, Serial No. 217,241

2 Claims.

In the art of domestic power-driven clothes wringers it is customary to provide a so-called safety release device for automatically releasing the spring pressure which holds the wringer rolls toward each other when an article of more than normal thickness is drawn between the wringer rolls. These safety release devices are intended to prevent crushing and injuring an operators fingers in the event that they should be inserted between the wringer rolls. It is, however, desirable that these power operated wringers be capabio of wringing relatively thick laundry articles, hence, these safety release devices are objectionable if set to release when moderately thick laundry articles are passed between the rolls, and when the safety release devices are set to permit relatively thick laundry articles to pass through the wringer rolls, then the spring tension upon the rolls is great enough to crush and injure an operator's hands if placed between the wringer rolls.

The object of my invention is to provide a feeding device for wringers, of simple, durable and inexpensive construction, which may be applied in the nature of an attachment to the ordinary power-operated clothes wringers, and which will enable the operator to more conveniently and easily feed laundry articles to a wringer, and to form a barrier that will prevent an operator when feeding laundry articles to the wringer rolls, from inserting her fingers or hands between the wringer rolls, thereby avoiding the necessity for safety release devices for that purpose and making it practicable to pass relatively thick laundry articles through the wringer rolls.

A further object is to provide a safety feed roll and a support therefor so arranged and constructed that an operator need only place laundry articles upon the feed roll and they will be automatically carried by the feed roll to position between the wringer rolls, and further to provide a yielding pressure device for holding the feed roll toward the wringer roll in which a maximum yielding pressure is provided when feeding relatively thin laundry articles, and this pressure is decreased and minimized when feeding relatively thick laundry articles to thereby reduce friction and decrease the amount of power required to operate the feed roll during the time that the power-operated wringer is utilizing its maximum amount of power in wringing thick laundry articles. I

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 shows a top view of a portion of a (Cl. Gil-$66) power-operated wringer with my safety feed device applied thereto; and

Figure 2 shows a vertical transverse sectional View of same, the feed roll at the right being shown in operative position and the feed roll at the left in its raised inoperative position.

That portion of the wringer which is shown in the accompanying drawing comprises a frame iii and two wringer rolls II and I2. I have not illustrated the means for yieldingly holding the upper wringer roll downwardly toward the lower wringer roll. It is, however, to be understood that the wringer is of the kind now in common use and is provided with such springs.

My improved safety feed device comprises frame having two arms l3 pivotally attached to the wringer frame by the bolts M. These arms extend downwardly and toward the wringer rolls, and rotatably mounted in their lower ends is the feed roll it preferably of a diameter slightly less than that of the wringer rolls and made of the same yielding material. Normally the feed roll engages the upper wringer roll slightly below its horizontal center and stands spaced apart slightly from the lower wringer roll, as shown at the right in Fig. 2.

At the lower ends of thQEtllTlS it are two curved arms l6 extended outwardly and upwardly, and carried by the arms it is the feed plate ll which curves downwardly and toward the horizontal center of the feed roll. The outer ends of the arms I! are connected by a red It so that the entire feed roll frame moves as a unit, and this rod serves to support the outer edge of the feed plate. when the outer end of the feed plate is pressed toward the wringer the feed roll is forced toward the wringer rolls by a movement centered at the fulcrum point of said lever which is at the bolts i i.

For applying a yielding pressure to force the feed roll into operative contact with the upper wringer roll I have provided a contractile coil spring it pivoted at one end to a pin it on the wringer frame lil, and at its other end to the rod ill at the outer end of the arms ill. The position of the spring i9 relative to the lever which forms the feed roll frame is such that when the feed roll is in the position shown at the right in Figure 2 the spring will exert a proper amount of yielding pressure for holding the feed roll into feeding contact with the upper wringer roll. When the feed roll is moved to a considerable distance from the wringer roll it is desirable that this yielding pressure be not increased but preferably that it be decreased to thereby permit the The arms l3 function as a lever, and

wringer to operate with a minimum of friction and resistance. This desirable result is attained by so positioning the spring with relation to the lever that as the feed roll moves away from the wringer rolls to the position shown by dotted lines at the right in Figure 2, the axial line of the spring will move toward the fulcrum of the lever, hence, the leverage is decreased and the yielding pressure of the spring correspondingly decreased. The dotted line 20a. shows the am'al line of the spring, and the dotted line 2| shows the decreased length of leverage.

A feed roll is provided on each side of the wringer rolls and when one is being used it is necessary that the other be held in an elevated position. This desirable result is attained in my device, and to move one feed roll to its inoperative position the operator simply grasps the outer end of the feed plate and elevates it, whereupon the axial line of the spring passes a dead center" line through the fulcrum of the lever and then the spring yieldingly holds the feed frame in said inoperative position without the use of any latch devices. This dead center line is shown by dotted line 22 at the left in Figure 2.

At the upper end of the arm is is an extension 23, to engage a roller 24 mounted in the wringer frame. These rollers also serve to prevent laundry articles from moving upwardly within the wringer frame.

In practice, and assuming that the feed rolls and their frames are in the positions shown in Fig. 2, then the operator need only place laundry articles upon the feed plate at the right and the feed roll will engage them and carry them to the wringer rolls, the feed roll will continue to be rotated by the wringer roll even if moved to its limit away from the wringer rolls because of the movement of the laundry articles by the wringer rolls. It is seldom necessary for an operator to place her hands on the feed roll, but even if she does, her fingers move toward the upper portion of the upper wringer roll and are thereby directed away from the space between the wringer rolls.

When the feed roll has been moved to the dotted line position at the right in Figure 2 by the laundry articles, then the wringer is being operated at its maximum load, and if at that time the feed roll was being forcibly held against the laundry article it would create so much friction and resistance as to stop the operation of the wringer. With my device, however, the pressure of the feed roll is reduced under such conditions, and will not appreciably retard the wringer.

The springs I 9 automatically hold the feed roll frames either in their operative position or in their position widely spaced from the wringer rolls, and the feed roll frames may be quickly and easily moved to either position.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a wringer frame having wringer rolls therein, of a feed roll device comprising a lever fulcrumed to the wringer frame and extended downwardly, a feed roll rotatably mounted upon the lever, a contractile coil spring secured to the lever and to the wringer frame in such position that when the feed roll is in engagement with or close to the wringer, the longitudinal axis of the spring stands spaced below the fulcrum of the lever, and as the feed roll moves awayfrom the wringer roll, the longitudinal axis of the spring comes nearer the fulcrum of the lever, thereby reducing the amount of leverage applied by the spring to hold the feed roll toward the wringer roll, and thereby gradually decreasing the pressure applied by the spring as the feed roll moves away from the wringer roll, and a stop device carried by the lever to engage a part of the wringer frame when the lever has been moved to position with the axial line of the spring above the fulcrum of the lever.

2. The combination with a wringer having a frame and wringer rolls, of a feed roll frame having two upwardly extending levers at its ends fulcrumed to the wringer frame and having an extension above the fulcrum, a feed roll rotatably mounted in the feed roll frame, a contractile coil spring secured to the feed roll frame and to the wringer frame, so positioned that when the feed roll is adjacent the wringer roll, an axial line through the spring will be spaced below the lever fulcrum and will approach the lever fulcrum as the feed roll moves away from the wringer roll, and will pass the lever fulcrum when the feed roll is further elevated, and a stop device on the wringer frame to be engaged by said extension on the lever, for the purposes stated.

CARL G. LUNDSTROM. 

